The story of my first professional European outing for Bingoal Wallonie Bruxelles. It was Il Giro Di Sicilia. There were five UCI World Teams and one champion I had always prayed to have the chance to race against. Nothing would turn out as I expected, yet everything was how I imagined.
The story starts back in February, when I was discussing the race programme with the directors of Bingoal WB. I saw that the Giro Di Sicilia was listed on my calendar and immediately thought about our very own Matteo Malucelli winning stage one of the 2022 edition of the race. Besides this image I had not yet started the research on the course profiles. I just knew that if the first half of the season went well I would have the opportunity to open my account in Italy, with the professional équipe, in April. A month that frequently coincides with some good form.
A few weeks out from the Giro Di Sicilia, I was on a form finding mission in the Netherlands where a rider of the professional team, Alex Salby, joined us on the continental team for the Olympia’s Tour. We were in conversation about whether he would be featuring on the startlist of this beautifully scenic Italian race. Although I’m getting ahead of myself. In this chat he brought to my attention to the difficulty in parcours that the riders would be facing. I proceeded to commence my research into the four stages that would direct us around the heart of Sicily and eventually to the heart of Sicily, Mount Etna.
Each stage would invariably be some of the most mountainous terrain I had ever competed over. For the first time since the Vuelta a Pamplona in 2018, I would be climbing hills that were no longer classed as bergs. There would be stages featuring descents that lasted twice or three times as long as those I was accustomed to when training in the Belgian Ardennes for the last two seasons.
With the excitement of this race dating back all the way to February I had ample time to create powerful imagery of the race ahead. I therefore came into the race much like I did when I started competing in my first Belgian UCI events when I was a junior. Fortunately I had one of my soigneurs from the junior days present on the lap around Sicily. He regularly reminded me of how I was and how I hadn’t changed one bit. Despite those appropriate apprehensions of how it would be to race in Italy, I managed to complete all my pre-race procedures in order to get my headspace just right.
There were two things I had not experienced in my career. One was taking a musette, the other was taking on technical descents in tightly packed groups. The first I had told myself to attempt before the final queen stage. However, to my dismay, the musettes that were handed out to us on stages one and three were awkwardly timed & in places I was not prepared to take a musette. The first simply was that I had not expected to take a musette on a hundred and sixty kilometre stage, so caused a few issues within the train of the peloton, rightly being subject to a few shouts.
The second was at the top of a long & arduous drag to the highest point of the day before a long forty kilometre descent toward the coastline. Toward the top of the climb I had received a shout from Alexis to indicate the moment to move into an appropriate position before the downhill, due to it being so long everyone would largely be fixed in position. I was working hard to move up next to all the world tour climbers in order to get Alexis up to the front before the technical decline through town. As a result I was mentally focused on this task of presenting my leader with a clean line of sight, over that of taking a musette I believed I didn’t need. Unfortunately it later occurred to me that my sugar levels were dropping as I had not fuelled correctly on the descent, and later paid for that in the efforts to lead out Lennert, Marco, Remy and Alexis before the final punchy ascent to the finish.
The highlight of the week was, undoubtedly, achieving my first professional top ten on stage two. This was a big milestone, just like Gullegem was to me in 2022. In the moment, the sensations experienced in that engrossing finale were palpable. Those eight final kilometres, just like every other race, will remain sharp and cultivated within my brain for years to come. I could rattle on about the finale in incredible detail, just as I have done with my closest friends that offer their companionship on rides. Yet, I honestly believe that these detailed explanations often contain tactics and rapid thought processes that some would describe as intellectual property. Having said that, the team did a phenomenal job in the closing hour of the race. Our presence – and unmissable jerseys – dominating the head of the peloton for the final thirty kilometres. Don’t believe me? Go check out GCN+ to rewatch the stage.
A compelling feature of the Giro Di Sicilia was that GCN+ covered the final seventy (or so) kilometres of the four stages. This meant that I could augment my recollection of the race with a further third person (Brian and José’s) view of my position within the peloton. By carrying out a performance analysis of my race on the massage table, it would accelerate my learnings of the tactics I used. Ironing out my inevitable blunders therefore ensuring I wouldn’t ever make the same errors again. Except on the queen stage of course. I was firmly in the grupetto enjoying my discussions with the aforementioned champion.
Before I close off the pilot of these “racing chronicles,” I recall being asked if I have time to soak in the scenery that I race through. The answer I have given, is that I don’t get the opportunity as I am often chewing my stem in crosswinds or circumnavigating technical and chaotic courses which require my utmost attention. However, on this occasion there were two moments that are imprinted in the mind. The most powerful, is the image you’ve just scrolled past featuring Mount Etna as the focal point. As the peloton was riding along, the volcano came into view. I was in awe at the majesty of its presence. I was so incredibly lucky a photographer on course captured the moment exactly as I see it from my first person perspective. Sicily is to this day the most picturesque country I’ve ever been to. Every angle I looked could have been a “perfect shot” moment.
All in all, I was left reeling at the things I experienced throughout the week on the Giro Di Sicilia. I was more resourceful than I expected, taking a startlist and plastic bag as a barrier, protecting my chest from the chill of the long Etna descent. I was astonished that I took a king of the mountain on a fast and flowing descent, by over fourteen seconds. I was concerned how little energy was being burnt on each stage, leaving me to discuss solutions with my nutritionist. I was taken aback at my timing to sidestep the “never meet your heroes” cliché. When’s the next one? I like it here.
Grazie mille e ciao
